Paris, May 18. - The American aviators forming
the Franco-American flying corps took part in an expedition over the German
lines the first time as a separate unit. They sustained particularly heavy
shelling as they recrossed the front, but landed safely.
The flotilla, including the craft piloted by Corporal Kiffen Rockwell,
of Atlanta; Corporal James Rogers McConnell, of Carthage, N. C.;
Sergeant Elliott Cowdin, of New York; Lieutenant William K. Thaw, of
Pittsburg; Sergeant Norman Prince, of Boston; and Sergeant Hall,
of Galveston, started at daybreak and spent nearly two hours reconnoitering under a hot fire but encountered no German machines.
Corporal McConnell was flying at a height of 12,000 feet but German shells burst all around him,
showing that the range of the German anti-aircraft guns had lengthened.
Corporal Victor Chapman's machine was hit and driven out of its
course, returning so late to its base as to cause anxiety regarding Chapman's fate. The aeroplane piloted by Lieutenant Thaw lost part
of its tail piece and the propeller was damaged by a shell.
Three more Franco-American flotillas are to be organized from the forty additional American
volunteers now in training.

Norman Prince

I believe the handwritten note is that of his brotherís, Frederick Prince, Jr. also a member of the Lafayette Escadrille.

Legend & photo from Guillaume de Ramel, 11-13-06

ONLINE RESOURCES

If you search for "Frederick Prince, Jr. +aviation", using the Google search engine, (1-7-05), you will
find just 3 links. Among the most helpful are the following.

This page on the homepage of the Air Force Association
offers a fascinating collection of photos by Robert Soubiran, a member of the Lafayette Escadrille. It is a pdf file which reproduces the
entire article, complete with some beautiful photographs of the era. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.